From July 1 to Sept. 30, Schauer sent out 333,178 mailers across his seven-county district, at a cost of $113,096, according to the Statement of Disbursements from the Chief Administrative Officer of U.S. House of Representatives.

File photoMark SchauerJust eight other members of Congress spent more than Schauer on mailers this summer. Michigan's other freshman Democratic Congressman, Gary Peters, sent out 150,536 mailers at a total cost of $5,171.

"Congressman Schauer is committed to staying in touch with the people he represents in Congress, and reaching out through the mail is just one way we communicate," Schauer's Spokesman Zack Pohl wrote in a statement. "Since there aren't any network TV stations based in the district and two counties don't even have a daily newspaper, we have to be more aggressive when it comes to keeping people informed about what Mark is doing to help our businesses compete and create jobs for local workers."

The omnibus bill

On Thursday, Schauer voted in support of a $447 billion omnibus spending bill, which provides funding for a number of federal agencies and programs and contains more than 5,000 earmarks. It passed by a vote of 221 to 202.

According to Schauer's office, only one of the earmarks will affect Jackson County. The state's United Way 211 system — a social service hotline — will receive $200,000 to be spread across call centers statewide.

United Way Executive Director Ken Toll said he wrote the original earmark worth $733,000 to serve just the Central Michigan 2-1-1 system that includes Jackson, but will be happy to receive a portion of the $200,000.

"We're really excited to have some federal funding," Toll said.

His original earmark would have helped them create 17 jobs, but Toll said they are able to meet the needs they have now and won't be hiring with this earmarked money. Because they haven't raised all the revenue this year they need for 211, the funds will help, he said.